The Flemish town of Temse has a new neighbourhood. The regeneration of the old De Boelwerf shipyard is creating a prestigious mixed-use development, giving a fresh face to a site with more than 150 years of maritime history. Over a period of fifteen years, eighty hectares of land and the yard’s former offices are being transformed into a brand-new residential district, a business park and an administrative centre for the local authority.
Covering about thirty hectares, the housing development has been named “De Zaat” – a local word for shipyard. It is an initiative of NV Nieuw Temse, a joint venture by ING Real Estate, construction group Cordeel and building contractor Aertssen. Working closely with the local authority, which acquired the site of the old office building after De Boelwerf closed, a master plan has been devised to combine waterside living with industry reliant upon the River Scheldt and space for nature. With its strategic location close to the town centre, the renovated office block is set to become the crucial link between old and new, accommodating municipal services and the local police.
THREE URBAN VILLAS
The first housing project on the site is a trio of “urban villas” designed by Antwerp architect Jo Crepain. These overlook the river and are situated in the area closest to the centre of Temse. Eventually, they will be joined by several apartment blocks close to the Scheldt and an area of detached homes with gardens. Built of brick and each topped by a penthouse reminiscent of an aluminium sculpture, the villas contain a total of 21 luxury flats. They are linked by a private underground car park and stand in a semi-public garden which runs as far as the riverside dyke. Each flat has a floor area of 180 square metres and is simple in its interior layout. The whole complex centres on its lift shaft and staircase, with access through a high-ceilinged entrance hall. On this side, the buildings feature a rhythmical brick façade. Behind that are the bedrooms. On the other side, where they offer views over the nature reserve and the river, the flats have large living areas with all-glass frontages opening onto spacious, unobstructed balconies. The CP155 high-insulation sliding-door system has been chosen for this. “That was explicitly written into the specification,” explains Luk Mertens, Jo Crepain’s project architect on the development. “This was because we could find no other product so trim in terms of the relative positioning of the fixed and moving panes. This was also why we rejected an alternative proposal from the contractor: that would have meant compromising on aesthetic quality.” Inside the uprights are steel support tubes, around which are wrapped the CP155 frames. In this way, the supporting structure of glass façade is neatly hidden away and there is no need to double up the window frames or steel tubes. The result is a more perfect “wall” of glass, but with a different route from living area to balcony on each floor. The aluminium cladding used to finish both the balconies and the floor of each storey reinforces the horizontal lines created by the “freedom” of the linear wall of glass and provides a sharp contrast with the vertical windows on the brick-fronted side of the building.
ADMINISTRATIVE CENTRE
The existing office building was completed in 1969 and originally housed De Boelwerf’s administration departments. With its rational design, it lent itself very well to its intended use by the local authority. But the plain brick outer walls lacked the elegance needed for it to take on the pivotal connecting function designated to it. The new administrative centre had to present itself as an open, accessible building for the people of Temse, as a showcase for the local authority and as a beacon for future residents of De Zaat. Antwerp-based architectural firm Storme Van Ranst, which won the competition to renovate the block in 2002, understood these requirements very well. It has created a truly “open” building, both for those looking at it from the outside and for the workers inside. The structure was stripped down to its skeleton. The brick outer walls disappeared, then concrete staircases, extraneous brick columns and internal walls were removed. Eventually, only the naked, exposed frame remained. The first expression of the building’s new openness appeared in the form of transparent outer walls and a high, glass-lined entrance hall. This was the architects’ way of breaking down the barriers between the exterior and the interior. This also gives those working in the administrative centre a good visual link with their surroundings, an attractive nature reserve on the banks of the Scheldt. Moreover, the extensive use of glass allows the building to act as a beacon. Inside, open-plan offices have been created wherever possible, with dividing walls running parallel to the panoramic windows. This makes the building’s interior arrangement quick and easy to understand visually.
The building is clad using CW-50 curtain walling. This is a semi-structural glazing system with load-bearing vertical struts, from which are suspended catwalks for maintenance and access. Painted a light matt grey, the aluminium framework and zinc cladding units are combined with the dark brickwork and wooden interior details to create a restrained yet warm overall effect. Every complex aspect of the glass walls was worked out in minute detail in the design phase. “Aluminium frames from Reynaers were chosen for the wide range of supporting components which enable such difficult detailing,” says architect Jean-Pierre Van Liefferinge of Storme Van Ranst, its project leader on the administrative centre. “The entrance hall, for instance, is lined with huge panes of glass extending up several storeys. By suspending maintenance catwalks along the inside, wind pressure is more evenly spread and so the frames can be thinner than they would otherwise have to be. For the horizontal glazing beads, frames were designed with internal steel reinforcement. Combining the architectural specifications with the structural demands and technical requirements such as drainage and insulation was only made possible by the range of components offered by Reynaers.”
Temse’s municipal services moved into the administrative centre in June 2006. The residents of three “urban villas” are now also in their new homes. And work on the next phases of De Zaat is well under way. An exclusive residential area is taking shape.